Truce
by tyrustrash
Summary: King Edmund the Just would do anything to make sure his family is safe, no matter the cost to himself. Balancing his past, the constant threats, and loss proves to be a lot more complicated than it would seem.
1. The Book

It was not yet dawn of the morrow, as the sun was not quite resting on the magnificent Cair Paravel. And yet, the Just King was not even near sleep, but alone with his thoughts. King Edmund rested his back against the side of his stone window, looking out on the Western Wood. It may be dark, but the wood still shone with great beauty. The fire still roaring in it's glory, reminding our king of the great Lion.

He found it difficult to understand why Aslan had left them, but he refused to doubt His wisdom and promise to return. The younger Pevensie brother was now at the age of fifteen, and it has already seemed so much time had passed since the coronation. However here Edmund sat, awaiting the return of the simple sunrise. He thought of Lucy. The Valiant Queen and his little sister who was now thirteen. Edmund watched Lucy grow into such a lovely young woman, and he couldn't be more proud of her. From here his thoughts drifted to Susan. The Gentle Queen and his older sister, at age seventeen. She very much lived up to her title, and treated everyone with such grace and kindness, Edmund was amazed at how far she'd come since 'Spare Oom'. And finally, his thoughts landed on Peter. The Magnificent King, Edmund's older brother, and nineteen. In the Just King's eyes, magnificent was just the word to describe his brother. Peter was that and so much more to Edmund. A mentor, a good hearted person, and most importantly; his brother.

Edmund could never find the rightful words to thank Peter for everything he's done. They both had such a difficult childhood with each other, and neither enjoyed their company. That is, until after Narnia came about. Edmund was just upset it took a war for him to realize just how much Peter would do for him.

His thoughts were drawn away from Peter, as a small knock sounded at his door.

"Yes?" Edmund stood from his place at the window, facing the entrance to his room. A few moments after his response to the knock, just as Edmund was about to open the door himself, it opened ever so slightly. A head popped through, and it was clear to be Lucy, who soon after walked in and shut the door behind her.

Something was wrong, Edmund could just tell. Lucy never stayed quiet this long, not even if it was early in the morrow.

"Lu? Are you alright?" He asked as he led her to sit on the edge of his bed, kneeling down in front of her as she did so. She stayed silent for another minute or two, but Edmund was patient. Then finally; "you're going to be terribly mad, Ed." Lucy said sadly, looking at her hands which she had folded into her lap. Safe to say the young king was confused and curious. "How do you mean, Lucy? Come on, it's alright."

She still wouldn't say much, so Edmund broke the silence. "Lu, you're starting to worry me. Is this something we should wake Peter and Susan for?" He asked her.

Lucy finally looked at him and shook her head, before saying, exasperated; "oh Ed, I'm so incredibly sorry! I ruined your book! You trusted me with it, and Susan told me not to bring my satchel on a gathering trip, but I did it anyways!," she barely took a breath before continuing, "and of course Susan was right- Susan's always right- I dropped my satchel in the waters, soaking everything inside, including your book!". Edmund just lightly smiled sympathetically, but Lucy looked as though she might burst into tears. He grabbed her hands gently.

"It's alright, Lu. It's not as if you knew. Besides, books dry!" He reassured her.

"Tell you what," he made sure to look her in the eyes so she'd know he was truly not upset with her, "we don't even need to tell Susan. For all she knows, you were extremely careful with your satchel, and nothing happened! I'm not worried about the book, Lucy. You feel any better?" Lucy nodded in response, and for the rest of the morning, the two siblings talked and watched the sun rise over the trees and the mountaintops.

To anyone else, what Lucy was upset about may seem like something not to be worked up over at all. But it truly was to Lucy, she became horrified by a simple scratch on someone else's item. She believed if she is to be entrusted with something, that she take care of it. Such a quality is not something to think badly of; but to love.

That's one of the things Edmund loved about his sister; her care for the little things. He would always love his siblings.

**Author's note: hey. Hi. How's it going? Yes. I'm writing a Narnia book. No. I'm not stopping my other book. No sir, there's a lonnnnnggg chapter in the making so be patient Xx**

**Let me know how you felt about this? First time with Narnia fanfiction, and Narnia was literally my whole childhood. Please review, vote, and have a nice day. **

**And no. I do not have the honor of owning ANYTHING about Narnia; the genius C.S. Lewis made Narnia, and all credit goes to him, the man who shaped my childhood. **


	2. The Throne Room

If there was one thing the Just King knew, it certainly was how dedicated he would always be to the grand Narnia. Lucy had gone back to her room at daybreak, to get ready for the daily 'complaints' in the Throne Room. Edmund was determined to do the same- that is until he got slightly distracted. With many papers sitting on a desk, awaiting to be answered, signed, or looked over, how could one not be distracted? They were mostly matters that the Western Wood was dealing with at the moment. From Calormene folks crossing the border and using their wood- which Edmund was sure he'd hear about in the Throne Room- to approvals for the birds to own their personal tree if they wished. He busied himself with this until he noticed the sun reach over the treetops, therefore it was almost time to head to the Throne Room.

After righting himself,-yet still somehow managing a slightly messier look- King Edmund made his way down the corridor and a couple staircases, one of the men of his guard- a great bear by the name Ora- following behind. He made it just in time, walking into the large room as Beasts of all kinds began pooling in. The Just King turned to face Peter, The Magnificent, and making eye contact as a way of greeting each other in the new day. He sank into his throne while still sitting upright with much grace. Then he faced forwards, already seeing the looks of admiration from Narnia's great citizens. However, throughout the looks of patience and greeting, Edmund was rather shocked to find some not-so-joyful-to-see-him faces. Of course, not everyone was expected to love the kings and queens, but Edmund had not yet met someone with such an obvious scowl on their faces towards him.

Looking to his siblings, it appeared they hadn't noticed, so the king figured it would be best to only ignore the looks. He doesn't need to be put off by mere scowls, now does he? Once order seemed to be put into place inside the great room, a rather old and fragile looking owl spoke up. "Good morrow, your Majesties," the Four nodded or politely smiled in response, "it has come to my attention, my dear Queen Lucy, that there have been many unauthorized shipments being made at the docks. My perch and home is rather near the docks and the beautiful seas, and I couldn't help but notice a ship without a royal seal, or even a Narnian seal at that." He paused a moment to let his words be taken in. "It has just caused a bit of a stir with the Creatures around, my family included."

Lucy nodded in understanding, and then began to speak. "I see, good owl. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, I will be looking into this. It shall be solved straight away." He bowed to her, then the others, and stepped away.

The problems from then on actually seemed less problematic. For example, a rabbit and squirrel had a rather lengthy issue with each other and a matter of land in the Western Wood. Of course this was to be dealt with by Edmund, the greatest judge in all the lands, Narnia and on. Another instance in which a matter was brought to the Gentle Queen Susan- one raven believed items from her village shop were being stolen or hidden from her as a practical joke. And so on. These issues and more throughout the day were easy matters to be fixed, and Lucy was rather hoping the rest of the noon would hurry along so she could see to the mystery shipments and ship itself.

Although, that all changed with one simple action. One small action so ghastly and unexpected, that the Beasts would eventually submit to questioning, the Throne Room closed, and the guard on high alert.

The Just King looked down to find a rather painfully placed arrow in his side. Then it all went black.

**Author's note: Hello there my dears, hope you don't hate me too much yet! There was much debate on whether to keep this chapter going, or to split up the prepared parts to be uploaded at certain times- suspense must be kept, you know? Xx**

**What do you think about the cover photo?? On my device, it's harder to see so I hope it's not the same for you. I spent quite a bit of time editing it, I truly hope it's good enough. **

**Please review, vote, and have a nice day. And no. I do not have the honor of owning ANYTHING about Narnia; the genius C.S. Lewis made Narnia, and all credit goes to him, the man who shaped my childhood.**


	3. The Note

"Who would dare to do such a thing?" Was the first sentence the young king heard and woke to. It took him a moment or two to collect his memory and remember what happened, but he kept his eyes glued shut. Just in case somebody in the room didn't want him to hear their conversation. "And that happened so long ago as well, it is long forgotten to our people!" Came a smaller, more youthful voice- and yet in this time the voice sounded very angry. The said anger did not sound fitting for the sweet voice. "There's no use in pondering about this aloud unless you have some sort of idea. Besides," it was at this time Edmund began recognizing the voices, the one speaking belonging to Peter, "our priorities should be set to Ed until he is right enough to speak on the matter himself." It got quite silent after that, so King Edmund decided it would be wise to open his eyes.

Upon doing so, he realized he was lying on his bed, a large bandage rapped around his wound. The arrow lay in a towel on the night table beside his bed, and he noticed the arrowhead to be missing.

"Pete?" Edmund called, seeing Peter first. Right away of course, everyone in the room turned to him and he was able to match the voices to a face. Susan, Lucy, Peter, and then General Oreius and Mr. Tumnus, who had not spoken. Both Tumnus and Oreius bowed their heads to the king, Susan and Lucy rushing over to lightly sit on his bedside. Peter stayed standing, holding tight to something Edmund could not quite make out.

"What happened, exactly?" He found himself asking the five others present- to which they all exchanged glances before turning back to Edmund. Their General Oreius was the first to speak. "Someone present in the Throne Room had somehow gotten a bow in..," Oreius looked rather guilty at this, "and planted this arrow in your side, My Liege." Edmund furrowed his brows together; "how? And who did this?" He began sitting up with his words, but winced slightly as he felt the injury tear against itself. Before Susan or Lucy could frantically push him back down, he was fully sitting and facing them all, wanting and needing answers. The Just King really at this point wanted to know where Lucy's cordial was at, but thought it would be selfish of him to ask when he could easily heal from an arrow wound. This time, Peter spoke up. "We don't know how or who, Ed. But what we do know, is someone may still be holding a grudge. Either that or still faithful to-" before he could continue, Susan hissed; "Peter. No, not now."

Edmund only cut her off, "No, Su. I have the right to know everything you do." And he then gestured Peter to continue. The eldest king sighed and did just that. "We believe that it's possible this culprit is still faithful to the Witch." He stopped to let that sink in, but Edmund didn't look phased.

"And if they aren't, what makes you say they hold a grudge?" He questioned Peter, or honestly anyone who would answer. Again, all five exchanged glances before Peter revealed the mystery object in his hand, giving the odd shape to his brother. With a puzzled look, Edmund assessed the object to be a folded piece of parchment.

"This was attached to the arrow, My King." Tumnus said as Edmund found himself opening the parchment. Written in thick ink read the words; 'Traitors must pay'.

Silence fell on the group as Edmund read the three words over and over again. He was utterly speechless. The King wanted to completely forget about what had happened five years ago, but just as he succeeded, this was sent to what- punish his mind once more? Outrageous, frightening, upsetting, and more were all things that could be used to describe how Edmund felt about these three words. When nobody spoke, Lucy felt she should add on, "I'm greatly sorry, Eddie, but I cannot seek out my Cordial.. it's quite odd, but I believe I have misplaced it." She said slowly, seeming ashamed. Edmund shook his head sadly to Lucy, hoping she understood that he wouldn't be angry with her. And yet still, he was speechless. He was forgiven, his mistakes forgotten. Who thought it wise to torment him now? Five long years since said mistakes? All King Edmund knew was he was suddenly feeling overwhelmed by having so many surrounding him at once.

The only thing he could bring himself to say was "I need some air.", as he stood and exited his room. Edmund was expecting more pain from his injuries, and yet he found them more bearable to deal with than the eyes of five different beings on him. Five years it had been. Five. Edmund wasn't some little ten year old, hurt and feeling abandoned by his family. No, he was a king. King of Narnia. Loyal to Aslan. So why now?

After some time, the Just King made it to the end of the hall, now having to decide where he would go from there. Before he could choose, Edmund felt a tap on his arm. Turning towards the source, Edmund found Susan. "Edmund, I know this is stressful, but you can't let it get to your head. We have a kingdom to run, plus a castle to keep in order. Right now we need you to give any information or ideas you may have at who would do this. Otherwise there's no way we can help. Alright?" To this, Edmund could only nod in his admittance of utter defeat. He wasn't sure what else he could do, so as Susan began guiding him through a door and a staircase, Edmund only followed along. Queen Susan was already walking noticeably slower than normal, for her king brother's benefit of course, but Edmund felt as though time was incredibly slow going.

The Just King could feel the pain of his arrow wound getting stronger, as the adrenaline in his veins weakened. Ignoring it, he kept along. The faster he made it to wherever the two siblings were headed, the sooner Edmund could get the chance to sit down. Just as he felt the walk seemed to last forever, King Edmund lifted his head at the sound of his sister lightly knocking on a door. Not a moment later, it opened to reveal a flustered Tumnus.

"Dear ones, she's at the desk pouring over what must be ten books and written parchment." Mr. Tumnus gestured to the younger queen Lucy, who was indeed deeply invested in books and official pages.

Edmund couldn't help but wonder how long he truly had been walking and away from his siblings, if Lucy had already managed to do this. Why could he no longer remember? Susan grabbed hold of Edmund's sleeve, walking with him over to their sister after exchanging words with Tumnus. "Lu?," Susan asked as they approached her, "what are you looking for, Lucy?". The Valiant Queen was clearly exasperated from what seemed was her not being able to find what she wanted. However, she still looked up briefly to respond to her sister. "I'm searching through the records of Beasts from after The Battle. In an attempt, of course, to see which ones we let go free in the trials. I believe that maybe someone we let return to the kingdom as a Narnian citizen could be the culprit." After simply putting this, Lucy turned her head back to her research.

This sparked an idea in Edmund's mind, which he then decided to share considering Lucy seemed bothered by getting no results. With a small bit of adrenaline returning, "Wait, Lucy. That's a good thought. We should follow up on that, but there's an easier way." He took a moment to examine the files his sister read, "there still are the Fell Beasts trials. Those who did not prove to be innocent or loyal to Aslan," Lucy seemed interested, and gestured for him to continue, "therefore, including those are also the cases of Beasts who were not innocent, but were allowed through on warning. You won't find those cases in the parchment you read now, but I can help you get the right files." At this time, Lucy looked very relieved and happy with her brother for helping. Edmund of course was happy to help, and within no time the siblings found the right parchment. Although, as they were sifting through, the king couldn't help but feel the skin around his injury tearing against the bandage. It felt as though it seemed to be festering, growing worse. But the Just King ignored it once more.

Time passed quickly, although Edmund was very glad for the project they invested themselves into. It acted as a time waster, and ended up keeping his mind rather occupied away from his wound. "Here," said Lucy once they found the correct files. Susan seemed rather annoyed at the amount of Fell Beasts they allowed into their kingdom after the trials, but Edmund and Lucy were far too invested to notice. Going through each file carefully, they eventually got to the end, to get no results. Here is where they came to the conclusion that they would have to conduct separate trials with the Fell Beasts in Royal Court once more.

King Edmund chose to begin the second Trials the next day- without telling his siblings the true reason was he was growing more and more exhausted.

**Author's note: Hello, dears! I am greatly sorry if this chapter was more on the slow side, I had major writer's block these past couple months! Not to worry though, I believe the writer's block hath passed :)****-If you have any suggestions on the story, please comment- if you would like to be a part of making this story come to life, pm me your ideas I would love to hear them- and thank you very much for reading Xx**

**You know the drill, review, comment, vote, and read my disclaimer in previous chapters Xx**


	4. *note!

**Author's note *to be deleted later!***

**Hello! I'm back! I am terribly sorry for my long hiatus, but I thank all of my incredible readers for being so patient!**

**I won't be getting into too many excuses and all of that, but I definitely need to clarify that I am in no way leaving my stories. I am continuing to write them, I promise you!**

**And I wanted to let you all know that the reason I disappeared for so long is.. sad. **

**There was a death in my family early this year, and last year was tough enough leading up to it.**

**That is the major reason for my absence. I needed time to come to terms with what had happened, and didn't have the heart to update my works.**

**But, alas! I have returned! And I am finishing up chapters as we speak, so expect updates very soon! Thank you again for being so patient. See you soon!**


	5. The Threats

The trials were going by faster than King Edmund would have thought, but he was already tired of hearing the same thing over and over again. He remembered most of the Beasts from many moons ago, although amongst the crowd he could have sworn there was a face he had never seen before. Alas, just as he did with the scowling faces, he chose to ignore it. Edmund was far too exhausted to make a fuss over not recognizing the present company. The pain of his injury was deep, dull, and aching enough to make anybody want to just sleep, but the Just King could not allow that. These trials were a necessary process, especially if somebody in this room is responsible for targeting the young king, and possibly his royal siblings as well. His determination, however, did not stop his guard Ora from glancing nervously at him. The majority of the focus was on those being questioned, making the bear's job of watching his King easier. He began to pick up on certain mannerisms. Those including the way King Edmund shifted where he sat every few minutes, looking around after to be sure nobody paid any mind to it.

It was clear the boy was still in pain, but it was not Ora's place to step in and say so. So he reluctantly kept quiet. "I is innocent, I'm tellin' you'se- majesties" arose from the throat of one of the very few minotaurs in the crowd. It was then that the High King stood from his throne to respond, "That is what we are here to determine," Peter looks around to address the crowded room, "if you truly are unoffending of the crime, you have nothing to fear."

Suddenly, another voice broke through the curt silence that came after Peter's words. "Though what of those who aren't? What of those in this room, like I, that are guilty?" Nerves began to rise at this, all heads turning every which way, guards silently beginning to unsheathe their swords, trying to find the one who had spoken. Poor Lucy's heart nearly stopped. _Whomever tried to kill Edmund was present in this room. And they hadn't acted alone._Susan, though her blood had run cold at the sharp tone in the beast's voice, was the first to respond. "Come again?" It wasn't much. But hopefully enough to draw the guilty party forward, making themselves known. Such luck was not on their side.

"You heard me, _Queen _Susan. What is the plan in handling those guilty?" The voice definitely sounded rather sarcastic when addressing her as Queen. Edmund sat much straighter and alert, "that is what is decided during personal trial." He didn't have the heart to add that he would be the judge of said trial, being the Just King. While that is known all throughout Narnia, why add any possible fuel to the fire? At this point the young king began trying to look for that unfamiliar face again. A sharp yet short cackle sounded. Then it became sickeningly clear that Edmund didn't even need to add that fact. "Which can't happen if the Just King, the traitor, can no longer breathe." One small but threatening sentence was enough to cause an uproar. Chaos quickly ensued. The loyal Narnians present were livid, how could somebody speak that way against their king? General Oreius and half of the Guard present began leading The Four out of the Throne Room, into what they hoped would be safety. Behind them, even those not loyal to Narnia, were looking for the cause of the uproar. They may not like the Kings and Queens, but they would never rise against them without means or reason.

Edmund found himself, ironically, short of breath. The Four all let themselves be lead to their bed chambers, though they all gathered in Susan's room seeing as it was the closest. Once they were left alone- with guards stationed at the door for their safety- the youngest king fell backwards into the stone wall, sliding down that wall until he was sitting on the floor. If it was any other day, Susan would have fussed about him messing up his clothing. Instead she and Lucy immediately rushed to either side of him, Peter pacing in front of the three. "Are you alright, Ed?" Lucy asked her brother with wide, sad eyes.

The teenager in question forced a small smile for his sister's benefit, "I'm okay, Lu. This is just. A bit shocking, really.," then he turned his gaze to Peter as his face fell, "I truly let myself believe we were past this, Peter. I thought that Narnia had moved on. How foolish of me"

Edmund bit back a wince as the dull ache began to be much more prominent. No need to worry his siblings about something he could handle and heal from. Although he couldn't help but notice he was struggling to remember a few simple things- what he last ate, the topic of Oreius's latest fighting lesson, and _that face._

Peter stopped pacing and knelt in front of his younger, dear, brother. "I did too, Ed. It's been so long, how could we not think things had returned to normal? You certainly are not foolish." Edmund could only nod in response. He was incredibly grateful for his siblings, two of which were clearly fighting the strong urge to hug him, in fear of hurting his wound further. Even though they weren't aware of his pain, it was obvious in their expressions how worried they were. Furthermore, although he would not admit it, Edmund was very worried. Not about his injury. But about the threat- no basically a _promise-_ to end his life.

**A/N: Ooooo- intrigue. Could this face and voice be the same being? What will be done about the threats? Is there a group responsible for the original note "Traitors must pay"? What do you think? **

**Hello, dears! Apologies for this chapter not being as Edmund-focused. I PROMISE you, the next chapters are pretty Ed-centric, longer, and _very _dramatic! I've really missed this story and my fantastic readers. Thank you for the condolences 3 this has been a very hard year, but your kind words have helped tremendously! ****You know the drill, review, comment, vote, and- come on- if I owned The Chronicles of Narnia, I would not be writing fanfiction about it on ! **


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